EMPLOYMENT NEWS

Financial markets delivered an unwelcome gift for Jerome H. Powell when he was sworn in last week as chairman of the Federal Reserve — a nosedive. Triggered by fears of rising inflation and interest rates, the Dow Jones industrial average’s record 1,175-point plunge on Feb. 5 kicked off the worst...

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce wants you to know that it’s deeply concerned about the retirement prospects of workers in the “gig economy,” especially those drivers, housecleaners and other such menials who make their living by connecting with clients via online apps. “There should be a focus on...

California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon may have expected to torpedo the idea of a statewide single-payer healthcare system for the long term last June, when he blocked a Senate bill on the issue from even receiving a hearing in his house. He was wrong, of course. His shelving of the Senate...

The rise of digital media is powering job growth in the entertainment industry throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties, according to a new report. The digital media industry accounted for 206,880 jobs in the two counties in 2016, a 12% increase since 2006, according to the report by a coalition...

Times journalists are annotating this speech. If you see a passage highlighted in yellow, you can click on it to see what we have to say about it. You can also highlight passages and leave your own comments. Below are the remarks as prepared for delivery: Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members...

Three of the nation’s most formidable companies -- Amazon.com, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. -- sent shock waves through the healthcare industry Tuesday by announcing a joint plan to reduce healthcare costs for their U.S. employees. Although the companies said their focus mainly...

Americans probably will hear a lot about the economy in President Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday. Here’s context for some of the comments he’s likely to make, based on his recent public statements.

Welcome to California Inc., the weekly newsletter of the L.A. Times Business Section. I’m Business columnist David Lazarus, and here’s a rundown of upcoming stories this week and the highlights of last week. Wall Street kicks back into gear Monday after mixed economic news on Friday. The economy...

Tavis Smiley, the PBS talk show host suspended last December after an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by employees, is scheduled to moderate a public town hall event titled “The Conversation: Women, Men and the Workplace” at Nate Holden Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles...

Technology and consumer-focused companies led U.S. stocks to more records Tuesday. Netflix, at the center of both groups, soared after saying it gained more than 8 million subscribers at the end of 2017. Bond prices rose and yields fell after the Bank of Japan said it isn't cutting back its stimulus...

The federal tax law that has resulted in big savings for corporations across the country is also leading to a windfall for utility companies — and that should lead to ratepayers getting a break on their power bills. In California, the size of that break is still being worked out. The California...

The California economy closed out 2017 on a robust note as the state added 52,700 net new jobs in December and the unemployment rate fell to 4.3% from 4.6% a month earlier, according to data released Friday by the state Employment Development Department. The Golden State has now gained jobs for...

Uber Technologies Inc. completed its deal with SoftBank Group Corp., triggering a slate of governance reforms at the ride-hailing company. Uber shareholders sold about $8 billion of stock at a discounted price to a group of investors led by SoftBank, making the Japanese conglomerate the largest...

A former personal assistant to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Co-President David Solomon is accused of stealing more than $1.2 million worth of rare wine from his boss. Nicolas De-Meyer was arrested Tuesday night in Los Angeles and charged in an indictment unsealed Wednesday in Manhattan federal court....

Southern California News Group, which includes newspapers such as the Orange County Register and the Los Angeles Daily News, will be hit with “significant” layoffs in the coming months, the group’s management announced Friday in newsroom meetings that took place across five publications. Meetings...

Welcome to California Inc., the weekly newsletter of the L.A. Times Business Section. I'm Business columnist David Lazarus, and here's a rundown of upcoming stories this week and the highlights of last week. The U.S. stock market is closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. When trading resumes...

Robert Iger, the chief executive of Walt Disney Co., saw his total compensation decline 17% in the recently concluded fiscal year to $36.3 million, according to the company’s latest proxy statement filed Friday to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The drop from last year’s $43.9 million was...

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is raising its lowest U.S. wage to $11 an hour and will provide workers with a one-time cash bonus, saying the new tax law allowed the company to “accelerate” investment plans. The nation’s largest retailer, with about 1.5 million U.S. employees and nearly $500 billion in global...

Camera maker GoPro Inc. is getting out of the drone business, laying off more than 20% of its workforce and losing two executives after predicting a sharp decline in its fourth-quarter revenue and disclosing weak holiday-season demand for its cameras. The disappointing outlook sent shares plummeting...

With new options and conveniences, there's never been a better time for shoppers. As for workers — well, not always. The retail industry is being radically reshaped by technology, and nobody feels that disruption more starkly than 16 million American shelf stockers, salespeople, cashiers and other...

The U.S. labor market ended a year of solid growth on a disappointing note last month, but economists said tax cuts are set to breathe some new life into the gradually decelerating jobs recovery. December’s gain of 148,000 net new jobs, reported Friday by the Labor Department, was well below analyst...

Allergan said Wednesday it plans to cut more than 1,000 jobs as it braces for one of its bestselling drugs to face generic competition. Chief Executive Brent Saunders said in November that the company was preparing as though a generic version of Restasis, a dry-eye treatment, would launch in the...

Hundreds of new California laws took effect Monday with the beginning of the new year. For consumers, some are real standouts. Let’s take a look, shall we? Legal weed: The arrival of legal recreational marijuana is possibly the biggest change affecting the Golden State this year. Adults age 21...

With so much advice out there about saving money, being encouraged to spend could sound a little weird. But that’s what some financial services firms are telling retirees to do — to make a New Year’s resolution to use more of those dollars they’ve been socking away. With about 10,000 baby boomers...

Many lower-paid workers in California will get a raise on Jan. 1 under the state’s new minimum-wage law, which will eventually boost hourly pay to at least $15. Starting Monday, small companies — those with 25 or fewer employees — will have to pay workers at least $10.50 an hour, up from $10. For...

President Trump flew to Salt Lake City this month to remove 2 million acres from two national monuments in Utah, and to rebuke “distant bureaucrats” for acting to safeguard the West’s public domain without adequately consulting neighboring communities. “Under my administration, we will advance...

The U.S. economy was the feel-good story of 2017 — the pace of real economic growth rising strongly and the stock market playing out a euphoric high. Corporate profits are at a record high and job growth is moving toward the level that economists consider full employment. But that came among many...

Mattel Inc. laid off 70 employees earlier this month, according to a California Employment Development Department report. Mattel had 32,000 employees as of last December, according to its Security and Exchange Commission filings. The cuts, which were effective Dec. 8, come during a time of financial...

Walt Disney Co. said Thursday it has extended the contract of Chairman and Chief Executive Bob Iger through December 2021, locking in a 16-year run leading the Burbank entertainment juggernaut. The move, which had been expected, came as Disney announced its $52.4-billion deal to buy much of 21st...

Wal-Mart is providing workers with an app aimed at helping them budget their money and get paid before payday. The retailer said Wednesday that it teamed up with financial technology start-ups Even and PayActiv to provide an app to 1.4 million Wal-Mart workers. The Even app automatically plans...

Another month of strong job growth showed that the U.S. economy is lifting more workers left out of the recovery and heading into next year with solid momentum, even as there are lingering uncertainties about the outlook for wages and inflation. Employers added 228,000 net new jobs in November,...

California’s economic engine has slowed somewhat in 2017 and that’s expected to continue in coming years as employers have trouble finding workers in the expensive state, according to a new report. The latest UCLA Anderson Forecast, released Wednesday, calls for job growth of 1.8% by year’s end,...

Could James Murdoch soon be in the running to succeed Robert Iger? That's one of several intriguing scenarios that could be at play as talks between 21st Century Fox and Walt Disney Co. gain momentum, according to two executives close to the process who were not authorized to discuss the situation....

A steep slide in big technology companies pulled the major U.S. stock indexes mostly lower Wednesday, offsetting strength in banks and healthcare and erasing some of the gains the market made a day earlier. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite, which is the best-performing index this year, had its biggest...

ESPN is laying off about 150 employees, including people who work in studio production, digital content and technology, the sports company said Wednesday. The cuts, which are the latest sign of the financial pressures the Bristol, Conn.-based operation faces, follow a round of layoffs in April...

Digital media company BuzzFeed said it is laying off 8% of its U.S. employees, or 100 workers, as it changes its business model in a bid to boost revenue. It's also cutting an unspecified number of jobs in Britain. The company has 1,700 employees worldwide. A spokeswoman for New York-based BuzzFeed...

One patient got a $3,660 bill for a four-mile ride. Another was charged $8,460 for a trip from one hospital that could not handle his case to another that could. Still another found herself marooned at an out-of-network hospital, where she’d been taken by ambulance without her consent. These patients...

Federal Reserve officials generally believe that it'll soon be time for another increase in the Fed's key interest rate. However, a few felt any further rate hikes should be delayed until they see inflation moving higher, minutes of their last meeting revealed. Minutes of the Fed's Oct. 31-Nov....

The number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits fell for the first time in three weeks, pushing total applications down to a low 239,000, further evidence of the strength of the labor market. The NUMBERS: Applications dropped by 13,000 last week after rising by 13,000 the...

Welcome to California Inc., the weekly newsletter of the L.A. Times Business Section. I'm Business columnist David Lazarus, and here's a rundown of upcoming stories this week and the highlights of last week. Good times in the Golden State: We learned Friday that California added 31,700 net jobs...